A Tale of Two Hunts
by NyanWolf
Summary: "Your parents may be alive Luke," He said seriously, his green eyes intense. Alive...the word rang in my ears and I was frozen, as my entire world came crashing down around me..." Companion to Dreaming of Doomsday, centered on Luke and Danny.
1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

**Ok, so I finally made a companion book to Dreaming of Doomsday. You don't _necessarily_ need to read the other one before this one, but you might get confused. Also, I finally figured out most of the fanfiction controls!**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own U.S.M or anything else you recognize, I will have OCs, which I will own.**

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><p><strong><span>CONTEST!<span>**

**As you hopefully saw, the title of my story is a Tale of Two Hunts. Your job is to try and be the first person to figure out what the two hunts actually are.**

**There are two possible answers, but one is better than the other one, so there is first and second place. **

**If you know, post it in the reviews, ****I'll reply to you if you are correct.. **

**The prize for winning first place is the satisfaction of winning, a shout-out to you in my chapters, and I'll favorite and/or follow both you, and ONE of your stories!**

**The prize for second is satisfaction only!**

**May the most perceptive person win, and good luck!**

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><p>A Tale of Two Hunts: prologue<p>

**Luke's pov**

"We love you sweetie!" Mom was holding me as I dangled in the wind. She let go and I flew out of the back of the jet. Mid-air, I felt a burning sensation along my body. I screamed silently as my arms grew bulging muscles and my chest widened, ripping my shirt. I landed in the middle of a huge ocean. The horrible feeling of being alone washed over me. I whispered to no one as I watched the jet with Mom and Dad blow apart, _I love you too._

And then I was floating in a white expanse. I was intrigued, I'd never had one of those, "lucid dreams," if that was what this was. Usually, when I had this nightmare, I woke up after that last part but...

"Namaste Luke," I saw my best friend Danny-aka Iron Fist- floating next to me with his legs in the lotus position.

"Dude! Am I dreaming you?" I felt really stupid after asking a question like that. Obviously I was dream-walking with him.

"No Luke, I am dream walking, you are with me," He said calmly.

"Yeah... so why are you here? Or, why am I here? Or..Sweet Christmas!" I had completely confused myself. Danny smiled.

"Look dude, remember when I asked you how you're parents acted in your temptation?**(Reference to Book 1, last chapter)" **He asked. I nodded. He had told me that dead relatives acted differently in temptations than mine had. When I questioned him, he simply said that I would find out eventually.

"I have meditated on it and contacted the monks from my home. Luke, your parents may be alive," He stated seriously, his green eyes intense. _Alive..._the word rang in my ears and I was frozen as my entire world came crashing down around me.


	2. Learn to Love Him

**I'm a little bit unsure of how to describe Taskmaster's base, so if anyone knows what someone like Tasky would put in a secret base, yeah... R&R!**

**DISCLAIMER: I own nothing but my OCs, which haven't come in yet...**

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><p><strong>Luke's pov<strong>

I woke up in a cold sweat. I jumped out of my small SHEILD issued bed and cracked open my door. Peeking out, I saw Danny meditating on the couch. I slowly walked over, I tried to be as quiet as possible but when you're as big as me...

"Danny? Did you just? Was that you, in my dream?" I reached out a hand and tapped him on the shoulder. He didn't respond. I waved my hand in front of his face.

"You ok man?" I asked cautiously. He was completely silent, like a statue. I was starting to get freaked out. I checked his pulse, it was low. I smacked him in the back, an before my hand connected, his eyes flew open and he caught it. He was gasping and panting.

"Sorry my friend, I was trapped in a deep trance for a moment," He looked weak. All my questions forgotten, I focused on helping him back to his room, and by the time I remembered what I wanted to ask, I was already in bed, drifting to sleep.

"Team! All of you report to the briefing room immediately, Spiderman is already on his way," I was woken up by an angry Fury on my communicator. Trudging down the hallway with my costume on I heard Pete saying something about it being too early for fortune cookies. I glanced at a nearby clock, 5:00 A.M. Upon entering the briefing room I saw a very unhappy team, and a cheery Danny. _Lucky, he always wakes up at this time,_ I thought jealously.

"So, what's up Fury?" Pete asked with a yawn.

"What's up, is that someone has been stealing from major villains, Dr. Doome, Taskmaster, and Scorpio," Fury said. I sighed. We were up this early for theft? This had to be bad.

"Um, isn't stealing from villains, who probably use their stuff to make world domination plans, a good thing?" Pete said jokingly. Fury exhaled slowly and rubbed his temples.

"Nothing has been damaged, but computer software, large parts, and micro chips have been stolen," He said hesitantly, he wasn't telling us something.

"And..." I trailed off.

"And two of Scorpio's scientists have been captured, and their work stations have been raided, all traces of them are gone," he added. We were silent.

"Let's go," Pete and Ava said at the same time. Pete chuckled and Ava rolled her eyes under her mask. Fury opened a hatch in the wall, and Danny, Ava and I grabbed some parachutes and jumped. Peter and Sam were right behind us, web-singing and flying, respectively. When we touched down on a random roof, Taskmaster was waiting for us. We got in our battle positions.

"That's quite enough, Spiderman and friends," He said with a mocking tone.

"I believe Fury sent you here to investigate my base. As that fool most likely told you, I've been robbed. Someone has stolen technology that took me months to develop, for a special client of mine," His voice grew more intense with every word.

"Yeah? Was that client of yours _green_, by any chance?" Spiderman quipped.

"That is on a need-to-know basis, which you should be used to by now anyway," He remarked. At this point, Danny decided to stop their argument.

"To help you, we must know where you're base is located," Iron Fist said calmly. Taskmaster sighed and motioned for us to follow him. He led us to the docks and pressed something on his armor. Whoosh! A gigantic submersible ship surfaced from the Hudson. As the others stood in shock, with Spidey and Nova arguing about whose fault it was that there had been a huge submarine in the Hudson all long, without notice, I pulled Danny aside.

"So, Fist, was that true? What you said about my, you-know-whose..." I said quietly.

"I don't know what you are talking about," He grinned.

"I can't believe you," I sighed.

"Not here, not now... later," He whispered as we followed Taskmaster into the ship.

Taskmaster's place was wrecked. Rubble lied everywhere and we had to cover our mouths so as not to inhale the fumes leaking out of batteries and machinery. The others peppered Taskmaster with questions. I looked back and saw Iron Fist pick something off the floor. On walking over, I saw that it was a single greenish-blackish feather. His eyes widened under his bandana, he stiffened and fell to his hands and knees. I dropped to his side, tears of confusion welling up in my eyes, but I calmed slightly when I saw his fist glowing with a blue tint. He was having a vision of some sort. Within seconds he straightened and grinned weakly at me, thankful that no one else had seen. He rubbed his temples.

"That has happened often lately," He said.

"Well you have to get it under control, what if Tasky over there, had seen you?" I whisper-yelled.

"We can discuss it later. I believe these visions are no coincidence," Danny said in a contemplative tone.

"Where are they from?"

"I have never seen it before, but change is coming, and I think I may know who our mystery thief is," He answered cryptically, just as always.

**Nobody's pov**

Meanwhile, a thin shadow of a person was perched at the top of a large, circular arena. He was watching six people, four boys and two girls, fighting each other.

"Excellent, my students. Claw! Aim your kicks higher. Shade, dodge less, strike more," He called out instructions to the mixture of teenagers and kids below him. He chuckled. _All according to plan, soon we'll be ready... _He stood up and walked into a chamber separate from the arena.

"Is everything to your liking?" He asked the two prisoners staring up at him from inside their cell.

"You know what we want," The man whispered dangerously.

"Yes, and you will get it, but for now," The figure sighed sadly, he handed the trapped man a slip of paper with some directions, "I need this poison for Cobra, by tomorrow." The prisoners looked over the list and nodded. In the back of the cell, were beacons and mismatched simple machines with different logos. They got to work, all the while glaring at their mysterious captor.

"It has to be done you know. Memory is identity, its you. And in this bleak and dark existence of unknowing, there is but one way to shed any light. I'm sorry," He said, glancing behind him as he walked away slowly, his head bowed. It wasn't wrong, was it? How was teaching, wanting to understand, wrong? He had once been told that the future mattered most, but how can you live into the future when every waking moment is spent wondering? His students regarded him as a good person, and that same someone that had given him advice, had truly believed in him. If only he could make the same impression on his helpers(he refrained from calling them prisoners).

"Perhaps, they can learn to love me. In the meantime, I've got a hunt to prepare for..."

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><p><strong> Yes! No more Writer's block! Anyway, for anyone in my contest, your first clue was in this chapter! Also, "memory is identity, its you," is a quote from Stephen King, everything else is original. Not sure how frequently I can update, but at most each update will be within a week or less of the last one, so... Happy New Year and...<strong>

**Wolf out...**


	3. Ninjas

**I decided to make a Danny chapter for you guys reading this so... R&R and enjoy! Also, all the fortune cookie phrases are original and very hard to come up with so no hate please! :)**

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><p><strong>Danny's pov<strong>

After meeting with Taskmaster, we retired to our respective dwellings. I sat on the floor of my sparsely furnished room, with my incense. My head was pounding and it took a while before I was in a meditative state. Finally alone in my mind, I pondered the visions that had been haunting me for almost three days. They had started about a week after our trip to the Island of Dreams. Each vision was roughly the same, a hunched faraway figure perched on a wall.

"Hey Danny?" Spiderman entered. I jolted out of my trance too quickly and my head hurt so bad, and the light was so intense that I couldn't respond, I shut my eyes tightly and focused on keeping my breathing even.

"What is it Spider?" I finally asked with my eyes still scrunched up.

"Um...sorry to interrupt. But Fury said its our turn to patrol tonight, so..." He said awkwardly. I opened my eyes and saw him staring at me in concern. Nodding at him, he retreated out of my quarters, and I blew out my incense. I could see that I wouldn't be useful in battle in my state, but perhaps there would not be confrontation.

The first hour was uneventful and just as I was thinking that my wish had been granted, I found myself pulling Spiderman down as a laser shot over our heads. Ten Doom-Bots had flown into the alley from behind, trapping us in. As a warrior, I didn't let my fear show, but inside I was desperately hoping that Spiderman didn't notice the sickly pale color of my chi, or that I was shaking slightly. He struck first, webbing a few robots and pulling them into each other. I jumped on top of one and punched it down. Six left, I hit another one into the wall, but I noticed that my fist had just barely connected, instead of hitting it dead in the center. Spiderman took care of the rest and flexed his muscles jokingly.

"Hey, are you ok Fist?" He noticed my panting, and walked over.

"Yes, just don't be alarmed if I-" My ability to talk cut off and I toppled over. The last thing I saw was Peter yelling into his communicator.

"You know they're mine now," A tall, thin figure towered over me, shrouded in darkness.

"No, they are not," I replied calmly. He laughed and something hard and boney grabbed my throat. Almost like a talon, I realized, as sharp claws pierced my flesh slightly. It didn't hurt me here, but once I was back in the physical world, I would indeed feel it. He spoke in a depressed tone.

"To seek maddening dreams and constantly view the world in a dark insanity, signals something is missing. I know what that something is now, and I will get that, and my revenge, all in one," He squeezed tighter.

"Those who dwell on the past, are too weak to look forward," I gasped.

"And yet, you cannot dwell on what you do not have," He snarled.

"You yourself are but a rock sitting in a stream, and your actions are the waters that shape it," I whispered.

"But the rock controls the way the stream flows, my being influences my actions and vice versa, so how can I know if my actions are wrong to me, if I do not know who I am?" He shrieked and the resonating sound blew a hole where we were standing and flung us in separate directions.

"How to discourage Powerman from finding my little helpers? The one who can't be outwardly hurt...by hurting his friend instead," He laughed, and faded into darkness.

**Nobody's pov**

"He just collapsed. He was telling me something about not being alarmed and he collapsed," A frantic Spiderman was explaining to Fury and the rest of the team. Fury was nodding when Dr. Conners ran in.

"He's awake," He said. Everyone rushed in, with more than a little Deja-vu. Danny was casually sitting in a bed. He smiled when they came in.

"I told you not to be alarmed," He told Spiderman.

"Not to be alarmed if you completely pass out on me for almost half an hour?" Spiderman yelled.

"Yes," Danny answered simply.

"You had another one?" Luke asked. Danny nodded. Peter was shaking his head, Ava put her hands on her hips.

"Explain," She commanded. He got up and led them to the lounge area.

"Does anyone else think that stuff like this happens to Danny all the time?" Sam questioned once they were all settled either on the long couch or floor. Danny was balanced on the top of the back part of the couch.

**Danny's pov**

"You are correct, only this isn't about me," I started. But I couldn't tell Powerman that I was hurt, he would give up trying to find his parents, and it would be my fault. I would have to cut that information out, and continue my explanation through the pain I was in from my vision.

"I was being contacted, by someone else. Forced dream-walking, a vision. I am usually able to accept or decline someone contacting me, but this person has hacked it," I spoke slowly. My friends were obviously confused. I tried again.

"Say your cellphone rings, you can choose to take the call, or hang up. When I fell, I was getting a call, but instead of hanging up, my mind, the cellphone, shorted out and I took the call..." I said, my friends nodded, and I shook my head, amused.

"Why didn't you say that in the first place?" Sam asked. I chuckled.

"Ok, so who contacted you?" Ava asked. I glanced at Luke.

"The same person who has been stealing technology," I said. Pete's eyes brightened.

"Cool, so you know who it is don't you?" He exclaimed.

"I have a guess," I corrected. The team looked at me expectantly.

"I will tell you more tomorrow, visions can be tiring and somewhat painful," They nodded and I walked towards my room, hoping that Luke had gotten the hint. A second later, I sensed him following me.

"What didn't you tell us?" He asked.

"We need to talk. No matter what happens in the next few days, don't give up on your parents. And remember, secrets, kept from and by you, can be interpreted as darkness, or goodness, you decide, always," I said carefully. He looked at me blankly for a second, but then I knew he had picked up on the word,_ secret_, just as he was opening his mouth, I grabbed him and spun him in the other direction. When he whirled back around, it looked to him, as if I had vanished. Really, I was standing directly behind him, mirroring his actions until I was able to run off unseen.

"Ninjas," Was the last thing I heard him mutter.

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><p><strong>Ok, so I'm curious to see how well I've hinted at the villain, so if you know who it is, tell me. Anyway...<strong>

**Wolf out...**


	4. In Which Flashbacks Occur

**For anyone that knows Vulture's real back story, I am not being ignorant, I just thought this would fit my story better.**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't vulture, only this original back story.**

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><p><strong>Danny's pov<strong>

"Hello. You must be the Iron Fist," A thin, pale boy walked into the snowy cave where I was meditating.

"As of recently, yes," I answered slowly.

"I need your help, I have escaped New York to find my past. Once I have my memories, I will return and pay my captor a visit," He chuckled.

"Come," He walked over and I placed my glowing hand on his head. Images flooded my mind in a frenzy. I gritted my teeth, I was breathing so hard I felt light headed. I focused harder and, sorted through the memories. I saw a sickly young boy crying over his dead mother. Behind him, metallic octopus tentacles were reaching towards him, until they grabbed the screaming boy. Then I saw that boy being experimented on and tortured until he grew permanent shadows under his eyes and his lips and hair turned black. I knew what he thought he wanted, revenge, but inside, he wanted something else even more. Something better.

I looked deeper and saw a bullied child with a sick mother and neglectful dad. He had no friends to tell his problems to, and he didn't want to worry his mom. Eventually, he began fighting back so viciously that he hospitalized a few kids. Then the images became so vivid, so chaotic and fast, I choked on air and fell back from the boy.

"Well?" He asked expectantly. I thought hard.

"Your name is Adrian Toomes. Your mother is dead and your father left you when you turned ten," I said. He looked crestfallen.

"That's it? I was told that you could transfer memories into people's minds," He accused. I nodded.

"You are not yet ready for your memories. If I could implant only certain memories, I would. But if I transfer one, I transfer all," I stated as calmly as I could.

"Do you know how long I have come to find you? Do you know how long I've been trying to remember? Do you know how it feels to not know anything?" He screamed as his hair became dark green, and his eyes enlarged into red orbs. I watched in horrified fascination as his mouth and nose melted together, elongated, and hardened into a curved beak. Finally, he sprouted artificial green feathers and was the monstrosity known as Vulture.

"You want to go after someone named Doctor Octopus, I may not know who that is, but I can't let you," I said dangerously. I got in a fighting stance and lit my fist. He dived at me, I dodged. He banked and flew back around, hitting me in the chest and knocking me out of the cave. I back flipped and landed perfectly, just in time to see a talon ripping into my stomach. I choked on blood, grabbed Vulture and punched him into the snow. I took him by the neck and threw him off the mountain, knowing he would open his wings in time to live. When he circled back, I waited until he was close enough, then pounded my fist into the ground and the light and vibrations sent him spiraling down fast enough to break his wing.

"This isn't over," He snarled. I hobbled over, gripping my wound.

"We will be in touch, and perhaps eventually you will be ready," I said quietly. I helped him up and guided him to the city for rest and warmth and food. And when I sent him off the next day, I knew I'd see him again.

I woke up panting. These were going to be a very dark few days.

**Luke's pov**

My head was swimming. I had never been so confused in my life, and so scared. What was going to happen, and why was Danny keeping secrets from me? I remembered when I first joined S.H.E.I.L.D, I was the last one to join, other than Pete. For the first week, I spoke to no one, I was so angry at nothing, so upset for no reason. I thought nobody had ever gone through what I was going through. Everyone kept their distance, except Danny.

"They were trying to protect you, weren't they," He said to me after training one day. It wasn't a question, he knew somehow. I nodded and let the buildup of tears flow freely.

"Mine too," He said gently. And after that we were best friends, when the pain of the world on my shoulders became too much, I let him hold it for a while by pouring out my heart, and vice-versa. Soon, he properly introduced me to the team and I gained more friends.

I sighed, Danny was the brother I never had, so if he was keeping secrets, it had to be for my own protection. Before I knew it, I had wandered into the briefing room, where the rest of the team was waiting.

"Good, I was about to call for you, but you're already here," Fury nodded in approval.

"We picked up a hidden base on radar. We think the thief could be hiding out there." We all glanced at Danny.

"Is it full of vines and trees, director?" He asked calmly.

"Yes..." Fury said slowly, his eye narrowed. If he wanted to say anything else on the matter, he obviously intended to wait, because he silently walked to a computer, and turned the Tricarrier around. We went to the lounge area.

"So, you gonna tell us who the robber is?" Sam asked Danny.

"An old acquaintance of mine. His name is Adrian Toomes, but you know him as the Vulture," He said. Everyone was shocked, but none more than me. Danny had mentioned an Adrian Toomes trying to rip him to shreds back in Kun'Lun, but he'd neglected to mention that he was the Vulture.

"Wait, when did you meet Vulture?" Peter asked incredulously.

"In Kun'Lun, he required my help. I refused to help him, we fought, I injured him and sent him off the next day," This was what Danny always told me when I asked for specifics.

"How is it that when you answer questions, it leads to more questions?" Ava sighed, shaking her head.

"Way of the Fortune Cookie," Sam muttered.

"Okay. He wanted his memories, I gave him none. I let him go after breaking his wing, because he needed to find his own path, not be sent to Kun'Lunian jail, I did not foresee him being recaptured by Doc Ock," He said quietly.

"Yeah but why did you not-" Danny cut me off.

"We're here." We looked out a window and saw a large jungle.

"Savage Land?" Webs guessed.

"No, Vulture is smart, these trees are artificial, and the jungle looks bigger than it is with mirrors," Danny said.

"Which explains what he did with the stolen tech. And to hide a whole jungle, you would need awesome, realistic holographs. Oh! Maybe the kind that you can actually touch and only get in with enough force to disrupt the molecules or a passcode or-" Pete kept rambling excitedly, until Ava smacked him in the back of the head.

"This isn't a field trip Web-head," She growled in annoyance.

"You never told me you met Vulture," I said to Danny.

"Some would consider it illegal and unjust to let a dangerous criminal go," He shrugged, "But he really is a misguided kid with an unfortunate temper."

"Temper? Is that why you didn't give him his memories?" I asked.

"I saw things in his memories. Things that would drive an untrained mind into murderous insanity. Sometimes, people just aren't ready to face themselves..." He trailed off.

"You're exaggerating," I said.

"Exaggerations are useful in fiction and lies, but never in life," He said. I nodded. Nodded because I understood the hint.

"You thought I wasn't ready to face myself either," I stated. Danny grinned and his emerald eyes flashed.

"True. But perhaps today, we can all test ourselves. Vulture has them Luke. Your parents, the two scientists from Scorpio's lab. He has them," I froze. I knew why Danny had kept it from me. When he said those few words I felt the most real hatred pass through me. Hatred not unlike the one I'd felt when I first joined the team. But then, I pushed the hate aside and allowed myself to feel relief. Not exactly joy, but relief. Tremendous relief of finally knowing, no longer questioning. I knew how Vulture must feel now. I hadn't even known I was wondering until I knew the answer. But Vulture had never felt this relief.

"Wow," I managed. Danny grinned wider.

"Hey, wait though. I still want to know about those visions. They seemed really painful and-" It dawned on me. Vulture was hurting Danny. Purposely. But...and the hatred was back. Bigger, overwhelming. And while most of my mind was focused on _what_ he'd done, a miniscule part of my subconscious asked...why?

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><p><strong>I realize this story might not be very long, but I think its fine as it is. Quality not quantity! Anyway, major contest clues...and for now...<strong>

**Wolf out...**


	5. Not mutant, Just Freak

**This chapter is mostly description, but it does have a mystery to keep it entertaining.**

**DISCLAIMER: I own nothing except for Runt, Claw, Cobra, and others.**

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><p><strong>Danny's pov<strong>

I was watching Luke carefully. Honestly, I hadn't expected him to figure it all out. Before I could offer an explanation, we all heard shooting. We rushed to the source of the sound. Several S.H.E.I.L.D agents were fighting with three people in costume. One was a girl, with a black leather dress, Long black hair and jagged bangs. Big furry ears stood up from her head. Instead of feet, she had claws and instead of arms, she had glossy bat wings. But her most striking features were her eyes. She had huge eyes that covered half her pale face, and her pupils matched the rest of the eyes, a foggy gray color, she was blind. As she fought she uttered small squeaks, obviously echolocation, and only struck the agents directly four feet or less in front of her.

Then there were two boys. One had dark skin on the top half of his face, with wild black hair, and blackish-blue scales covering the rest of his face. He had no limbs, instead, he had the long, slim, body of a snake with the same scales. He narrowed his far-apart snake-eyes and lunged at the nearest agent, sinking his sharp fangs into him, which sent the poor guy twitching on the ground of the Tricarrier. The other boy had pointed ears, and a slobbering snout. His messy brown hair hung over his slightly tanned skin. He had the lower body of some sort of dog. He was covering the girl's back and moving on all fours.

"Cobra! Claw! We have more guests," The girl, who seemed to be in charge, said.

"Wow, not good," Spiderman started, "Ok, Tiger and Nova, get drool boy, Powerman and Iron Fist, you're on snake duty. I got our newest bat-girl," He ordered, snapping into leader mode. I instantly saw why Luke and I were fighting the snake, who I figured was Cobra, because between Powerman's impervious skin, and my senses, Cobra couldn't use his poison. He struck again and again, we were focused on his fangs, a mistake. I saw too late, his tail wrapping around my feet. He slammed me into a metal wall and dug his fangs into my shoulder. He released me and I saw Spiderman on his knees, holding his head as "Bat-Girl," let out wave upon wave of ultrasound. White Tiger was pinned under who I assumed was Claw, an unconscious Nova beside her. Even Powerman was struggling to stay awake as Cobra used his tail to strangle him, hissing in pleasure. My friends were beaten, we were beaten. I closed my eyes and felt the poison in my blood.

**Luke's pov**

"Powerman! Dude! Wake up!" I woke up to see Nova shaking me. I looed around as I stretched. We all seemed to be confined in a square, bare room, with thick glass as one of the walls. _What had happened? I was fighting something, with Danny...a snake. _I jumped up, fully alert.

"Danny! Is he ok? He was bitten by that snake!" I was hysterical, wildly scanning the room.

"I am fine friend," A calm soft voice said. I turned and saw Danny in a meditation pose on the other side of the room. I hugged him.

"Namaste, but we are in prison, you can't say my name," He pointed out, and if I wasn't so happy to see him alive, I would have face palmed.

"Oh right. Sorry. It's just, I saw you get poisoned," I lowered my head.

"Indeed. But the poison was not naturally generated. Someone just picked up a recipe and brewed it."

"No way!" I laughed, I knew what he was going to say.

"Frozen Death, a poison from Kun'Lun which I have been exposed to enough to form immunity," He chucked. I hugged him tighter. He had told me that Frozen Death was one of the most powerful mystic poisons on earth. It was however, easy to become immune to after being injected several times, and was ofen a test of strength for Immortal Weapons.

"Well then, that's great and all, but we're still stuck here," Sam whined.

"Patience-" Danny began.

"Is a virtue!" We all finished for him. He smiled, and we laughed.

"Glad your having fun," We froze at the sound of another voice. I looked through the glass wall and saw another cell across from us. Pressed against the glass was small boy. He had pasty skin, long white bangs, and looked about 14 or 13. His large eyes were deeply sunken in and we could see the outline of his ribs under his tattered shirt. I looked closer and gasped slightly. One of the boy's eyes was crystal blue ad the other was blood red.

"Whoa, freaky," Sam whispered.

"Namaste, what is your name," Danny greeted him politely. Pete read my mind...

"Leave it to Fortune Cookie to be polite in life and death situations," He rolled his eyes under his mask.

"The other students called me runt before I was banished down here," The kid, "Runt," said sadly.

"How long?" Ava asked in concern.

"Two, almost three, years now," He snarled. Danny was looking at him oddly. He had his head tilted slightly, as if remembering something.

"Your eyes..." Danny said. We looked at him, not expecting him to be so direct.

"I don't remember much. I think I was born like this, maybe. I remember being captured by an octopus man. With many limbs. It hurt, so much pain. Burning, I was burning alive. I couldn't breathe. I screamed for help, no one came, no one wanted to save the freak. I was so alone. Then, I must have escaped, I don't remember how, but next thing I knew, I was running through crowded streets. I heard a TV, a really big one above the city. And it looked like it was pointing at me," He stopped.

"Go on," Pete coaxed gently.

"He said that a mutant had ruined the city with a spider or something. I didn't have a spider, so I thought there were other freaks like me. I eventually wandered into this jungle. I lived here for two years, until a bird man came. He said this was his jungle, but he let me join his team. But I couldn't do anything. I wasn't a mutant like them, I was a freak. He said the sight of me hurt his head. I've been here since," He was crying now.

"The TV man didn't say...Spiderman is a menace...did he?" Pete asked what we were all thinking. Runt nodded. Webbs began explaining who Jonah J. Jameson was, and how we got here. Maybe we could get an ally, and one who must know this place well.

"I wonder..." Danny was still staring at Runt.

"What's up?" I asked him. He seemed to snap out of it. He shook his head and smiled in that relaxed way of his.

"Oh he just reminded me of someone," He said idly. I figured you would remember anyone that looked like Runt, but I let it go. And my mind wandered to Mom and Dad. _I'll find you. I'll be there soon, just hang in there._ _I promise_...

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><p><strong>See, I wasn't lying when I said I would have OCs. Anyway...<strong>

**Wolf Out...**


	6. Meet The Leaper

**Personally, this is my favorite chapter so far, and my favorite OC. Hope everyone enjoys reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it! **

**Reviewers:**

**TheImmortalWeapon: When I got into U.S.M, I looked into the Immortal weapons stories and what I know so far I totally love! From what I've read off the internet, my favorite, other than Danny, is between Tiger's Beautiful Daughter and Dog Brother #1! Also, glad you like the story so far!**

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><p><strong>Danny's pov<strong>

There was something odd about Runt. It wasn't just his eyes, but something else. I sighed, maybe I would find out later. For now, I had to focus on the task at hand, breaking out. I tuned back into the conversation.

"How have you lived down here for so long without food?" Sam asked. The others just looked at him with blank expressions.

"Bird man-" Runt was interrupted.

"Vulture," Pete corrected.

"Right, Vulture sends one of his students down every two days to give me food, and every night to give me water," Runt finished.

"They have kept you weak so you wouldn't escape. Which means that there is a way out, whether the cell has many weak points, or you would otherwise have the strength to break out," I said thoughtfully. The others nodded.

"Well, I've noticed that the glass isn't perfectly smooth in some areas," Runt offered.

"Fist, can you and Powerman break through?" Peter asked me. I placed my hand against the wall. I let my energy flow through the glass, I was the glass. I felt every imperfection, every miniscule crack until I found the weakest point.

"It could take a while," I said, taking my hand off. He nodded.

"Ok, here's the plan. When one of Vulture's team members comes to bring you water, Iron Fist and Powerman will break the glass. I need everyone to be fast and efficient. and get him or her cornered so I can web them up. Also, try not to attract attention, be quiet. Got it?" Peter looked at each of us in turn and we all nodded.

For the next two hours, the team chatted with Runt while I weakened the glass. Once I was done, I went over to Luke.

"Dwelling on what cannot be yet changed, harms the mind and changes nothing," I told him.

"You don't think he's hurting them do you?" His breathing was slightly irregular. He was crying.

"I know he isn't."

"How can you tell? This is the same person who has been training mutants, probably to get revenge on Doc Ock. And the same person who imprisoned this kid for like two years!" He whisper-yelled at me.

"Because what Vulture wants most, more than his memories, more than revenge, is a family," I sat with him and he looked at me with his head tilted.

"You don't mean..." He trailed off. I nodded.

**Luke's pov**

It was so weird. To think of villains as wanting the same things as regular people. But villains were regular people weren't they? They weren't just weak. They wanted recognition, power, happiness, just like everyone. But they just had different means of getting those things. How weird was it to think, that the kid who got shoved into a locker last week, other than Pete, might grow up a villain. While the person who shoved him in the first place could become a hero. And the perfect students, and jocks, and average kids, could be the greatest villains in history, or the ultimate heroes.

I was thinking all this as we heard footsteps. We tensed, it was time. Danny lit his fist and gestured to the point in the wall where I could just barely see tiny cracks. I nodded and moved closer. Somewhere nearby, a door opened.

"Time for your water!" A girly, high-pitched voice rang out. Then, a small girl came strolling in. We just stood in shock. She looked about nine or eight. She had dark brown hair in short pigtails and cream skin with rosy cheeks. She pressed the cup of water to Runt's glass wall and the cup actually phased right through it! Runt grabbed it, his arms shaking as if even the effort of holding a small cup was too much. He slurped the water up, pressed the cup against the wall and let it plop into the girls open hands. He collapsed back into a heap against the wall, exhausted.

Then the girl came over to our side. We stared at her. She was wearing a long sleeved, tight shirt with black and white horizontal stripes, and tights with black and white vertical stripes. It hurt my eyes to look at her too hard. The bottom half of her face was exposed and she had a black mask covering the rest, like a raccoon's face, but we could still see her eyes, which were the same color as Danny's.

"Hi! I'm Leaper!" I could see Pete trying not to laugh. We were all imagining the same thing.

* * *

><p><em>Chibi Batroc the Leaper and Leaper are leaping together through a field of flowers.<em>

_Batroc: Leap, leap!  
><em>_Leaper: Leap, leap!  
><em>

_They laugh and spin each other around in slow motion while flower petals slowly fall around them._

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><p>Pete started sniggering madly. She looked at him oddly. She was twirling something in her fingers, was that...a tail? Leaper had some sort of long lemur tail.<p>

"Sorry I don't have water for you guys, Vulture said you aren't thirsty enough," She said cheerily.

"Hey you wanna play a hand game?" Ava asked in a patient talking-to-little-kids voice. We looked at her like she was crazy. Leaper nodded and they started playing pat-a-cake through the glass. Ava tossed her head in the direction of the weakened wall. Peter finally understood.

"Keep going with the plan," He whispered to Danny and I. Danny drew his fist back and I followed his lead.

"Ki-yah!" Danny yelled as we shattered the glass. Sam zipped out and blasted the ground hard enough to make Leaper fall over. Pete webbed her to the ground and used his webbing as a gag. She looked at him with her big eyes. Then she started laughing. She bit a hole through the gag and the webs holding her in place. For the first time, we saw tiny, razor sharp fangs in her mouth. Sam blasted her. She dodged and suddenly she was behind me.

"Surprise!" She squealed. She crawled up my back, threw off my sunglasses and stuck her finger in my eyes. I put my hands to my face. I felt her jump off me and Pete's webs pinned me to the ground. Now she was on Danny. He flung her off and now it was some sort of speed competition. She dodged all his attacks, and he kept her from getting behind him or on him. It was almost amusing, like they were dancing, until Sam tried to blast her and hit Danny instead. Ava dived at her but Leaper ran under her legs and kicked her into Pete.

"Aww,you want to play too, Mr. Helmet? Why didn't you say so?" She giggled and flipped onto Sam's back and covered his eyes.

"Aahh! Get this kid off!" He flew around blindly and ran into me just as I was getting up, and we ran into Danny, who I was now siting on. Pete tried to lasso him with webbing but ended up getting dragged behind him. Ava jumped on Sam's back to try to grab the kid just as they all rammed into a wall and fell on top of us. Leaper cartwheeled off of Sam and hopped onto the ground.

"That was fun! And I liked the hand game too! Maybe we could do it again next time! Toddles!" She pushed a button and a glass wall enclosed our tangled up bodies. We groaned as she skipped out of the room, giggling.

"Did I mention that Leaper was the most dangerous one?" An amused Runt asked. We groaned louder.

"Powerman, what do you always say?" Sam muttered.

"Sweet Christmas?" I said.

"Yeah, that," He got up and stretched, popping his back in the process and wincing.

"This might take a while. And if anyone says patience is a virtue I'm going to lose it," Pete shot a look at Danny who smiled apologetically.

"So, you guys have a backup plan?" Runt asked with laughter in his voice. We glared at him and Peter face-palmed. Yep, this was going to take a _very_ long time.

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><p><strong>Sort of a funny chapter just because I love Batroc the Leaper so I figured, why not make an Oc with he same "powers" as him. Anyway...<strong>

**Wolf out...**


	7. How to be Human

**Wow, forget what I said about this being shorter than my other story, as far as word count, this will be a lot longer. Also, when Cobra speaks the letters are like that intentionally!**

**DISCLAIMER: Only my OCs. I own nothing else.  
><strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Runt's pov<strong>

I watched the teens talking amongst themselves for a long time. They were formulating a plan, or trying to. I remembered when I had been so motivated to escape, so determined. So _desperate._ After living in the beautiful jungle trees, and being evicted. Of course, it was fun at first, joining the team. Leaper and I were best friends. She even taught me how to do flips. And at night we would gather around Vulture, and he would tell stories. Stories of how was tortured by the metal-armed man. If we had been especially good, he would tell stories of us. He told us our names, and how badly we were tortured. We never knew how he knew, but we were too hungry for any strip of knowledge, that we didn't care.

"Adrian, Dereck made fun of my eyes again," It was the fourth time that I complained about Black Cobra that week. He sighed.

"How many times have I told you. You must all call each other by your code names, except me. Now, what did Black Cobra say this time?" He asked impatiently.

"He called me a freak, a failure. Said I couldn't be a hero if I tried, nor a villain. Said that I have no powers and I slow the group down," I was crying now. Adrian suddenly tilted his head and gave me that odd look he had been giving me since he found me. He doubled over, clutching his head and screamed. Not his bird scream, a normal human one. Melody, or Night Shade, came running along with Emily, or Leaper. Black Cobra slithered behind them.

"You!" He spat when he saw me.

"What have you done?" Night Shade said, looking at nothing, but able to see with her echolocation. She caressed Adrian's black hair with her wing.

"You couldn't have. What happened? Tobias?" Emily looked at me with wide eyes. I waned to say that it wasn't my fault. But I couldn't. I just shook my head and stared at Adrian.

"I told you he wasss trouble," Cobra told Adrian.

"C-cobra, the dungeon. Im-immediately," Our teacher ordered.

"You heard him. Leaper, ressstrain him, Night Shshshade, call Fisshh-face," Black Cobra hissed. The "fish-face" he was referring to was Barracuda, or Kirby. He was the most ruthless, scariest fighter. He had even beat Leaper on one occasion. He rarely spoke and when he did, it sounded like nails on chalkboard. He was Cobra's best friend.

"I'm so sorry Tob-" Cobra shot Leaper a look.

"Runt, I'm sorry Runt," She corrected herself as she pinned me to the ground painfully.

"Shh, you're ok, its ok," She repeated over and over in my ear. I was still numb. The only thing I registered was guilt. I hadn't noticed Adrian was sick, I was so absorbed in my own problems. I didn't feel my body trying to violently break free, and I didn't hear myself screaming deliriously. It wasn't my problem anymore. Nothing was my problem anymore, all I had to do was listen to the voice in my head saying, _you're ok, its ok._

* * *

><p><em>"<em>Hey, are you ok?" I woke up out of my trance to see White Tiger staring at me in concern.

"Yes, I'm fine," It wasn't hard to keep from crying. I didn't know how to anymore. I hadn't tasted salty tears since I was imprisoned. Part of me, the part that knew how to cry, was still numb. But these new prisoners were starting to wake that part up. They were amusing, I couldn't remember the last time I had laughed. They were sad, They were determined, they were lively, they were so human. Maybe I could learn from them, learn how to feel, be human.

**Danny's pov**

We had finally figured out a plan. We were simply going to have to break through and take the risk of being swarmed by who knew how many students. We planned to do it near dawn. We couldn't see outside, but since I woke up at dawn normally, I would be able to tell when it was. That way, the bat girl would just be falling asleep and everyone else would be waking in a good hour or two. I glanced at Runt, he had his eyes open, but they were glossy and misty, as if he wanted to cry, but couldn't. I knew that look. He was in a meditative state, most likely reliving a powerful memory. I couldn't help but sense that I knew him from somewhere, and it was still bothering me when we all went sleep.

I woke up after a few hours, it was dawn. After I finished waking everyone else up we were faced with a choice.

"Shouldn't we, um, you know...bring Runt?" Pete asked awkwardly.

"I feel bad, but he could barely hold a cup. He's going to slow us down," Ava whispered in shame. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Runt's hand move slightly. He was listening. But if I told the others, they would offer him to come with us. And he would know it was out of pity. I couldn't do that to him.

"We can come back for him," I suggested. The team nodded. I found the weak spot faster this time. It was in the same place. We broke through as quietly as possible, which was still very loud, and looked around. It was a small stone chamber with only Runt's cell and ours. At the far end, there was a narrow flight of stairs leading up. We walked over and cautiously began climbing. I squinted in the brightness of day. I let out a deep breath, we were free.

"Where is he?" Leaper dropped out of a tree and landed directly where Sam was about to step. He shrieked and almost fell back.

"You!" Sam growled at her, which in turn, made her smile slightly. But then the frown returned. When she had been cheery and childish, she seemed so innocent. But now she looked ready to kill if we made the wrong move.

"If you hurt him I will make sure that you never come out of that dungeon again," She snarled, literally, bearing her fangs and getting into a fighting stance.

"Who?" Luke asked. She ran on all fours and in a blink, she was on his back, her head by his ear.

"Tobias," She whispered. The others looked confused, but I understood.

"Runt is unharmed. He is too weak to accompany us, but we plan to go back for him when he is strong," I said calmly. Now she was on my back, crouching on my shoulders.

"I see you aren't lying, but you are leaving something out," She ran her fingers through my hair where it poked out from underneath my mask.

"Can we trust you?" I asked.

"Depends," At least she wasn't a liar.

"We must deliver something to Vulture, as friends," I told her.

"His friends would know his name," She hissed.

"Adrian Toomes," Luke stepped up, and I was glad someone had listened. It would look odd if I answered every question.

"You have pretty hair. Adrian told us stories of a boy who almost killed, then tried to befriend him. A boy with hair like yours, and emerald eyes. If I could just-" I grabbed her hand before she could undo my mask.

"Anyway kid, Runt is fine, so you are going to be a good little whatever-you-are and let us go, right?" Sam asked slowly, as if she was stupid. She scowled at him.

"You have been warned. If you harm Toby or Adrian in any way..."

"What are you going to do about it huh?" Sam said in mocking voice. Then she was on top of his shoulder. She grabbed his face and twisted it around to face her. I saw tiny pink claws poking through her small fingers.

"You want to play with me Helmet-Face, because we all saw how well that went last time. If you hurt either of them I will hunt you down. I'll force you to go insane, until I'm your every waking thought and I'm your every dream. I will be the air you breathe, I'll be everywhere, until one day, I'll get you!" She said in a high song-song voice. But her tone was deadly. We all stepped back subconsciously and Sam nodded so quickly his neck popped.

"Good, glad we understand each other! Well, I have sleep to get back to so..." She was back to her happy tone, and she darted up the nearest tree, out of sight. We waited until we could hear soft snores, and we set off. This indeed was proving to be quite an, _interesting, _journey.

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><p><strong>Here it is, a little bit of back story on Runt. Next chapter will be more Luke-ish. Also the contest format is:<strong>

**(who is hunting): (what is being hunted)**

**And you can guess more than once... Anyway...**

**Wolf out...**


	8. A Good Brother

**Nobody's pov**

"Where are you going, kid?" A large boy who looked about nine or ten, was addressing a small kindergartener, outside a school.

"Oh, hey Gareth," The little boy lowered his head. Gareth shoved him onto the ground.

"No one is allowed to call me that," He growled.

"Hey Dash! How 'bout we teach this kid a lesson," One of "Dash's" friends said, punching his meaty palm.

"Yeah, just like how we taught his weird brother a lesson," Another boy added.

"Ryan isn't weird! He's the best brother ever!" The kid had gotten up and was facing the bullies.

"Oh yeah? 'Cause I think the best brother ever would be here to fight for his little bro!" Dash mocked.

"He's been busy..." In his mind, the little boy added, _with mommy._

_"_Aw! How precious. You really are some kind of freak!"

"Go ahead freak, fight us," Dash's friends said.

"Fighting isn't the answer Gareth!" Dash slapped the kid.

"Looks like it is," Dash whispered menacingly. He tossed his head to the direction of the school building. In the shadows, a tall, skinny boy with darkish hair was staring intently at them.

"See, now Ryan is going to come over and help me!" The kid beamed proudly. The boy in the shadows stood his ground, and watched the smiling boy get punched in the head. He fell, and the kid's mouth was covered in blood. The boy shook his head, turned and walked away into the shadows, he never looked back.

* * *

><p>"How is school honey?" A pale, sickly woman was lying in a bed in a small one story house.<p>

"Fine mother," A darkish haired boy replied with a tight smile.

"Oh, you have had to grow up so quickly, with your father...away. I'm sorry, it's my fault, but you can still call me mommy. Like you used to." She coughed violently. Suddenly, a small kid came in the door. His shirt was ripped and there was a bandage around his head that looked suspiciously like a sleeve.

"I need to talk to you Ryan," The kid said, going into what they called their living room. Really, it was just a bare room with a patched up armchair.

"Excuse me mother," The boy walked into the other room also.

"Before you speak, I want to say...go ahead," The older boy started. The kid looked at him with his head tilted.

"Look, I know you're mad at me, so go ahead. Punch me. I deserve it," He finished.

"Ryan I can't, I-"

"Yes you can! Punch me, kick me. You need to learn how to fight. I won't always be here to save you, you shouldn't depend on me, punch me," He pleaded. The kid backed away.

"What do you mean?"

"In a few weeks, I'm leaving. I've taken a job to work with a scientist on some experiment as an intern. You need to protect yourself so you can take care of mother without worrying her," He sighed.

"I forgive you," The kid whispered. His brother stared at him incredulously.

"I forgive you for not defending me. I'm not going to fight, but I forgive you. You would never let me get hurt without reasons," He went to hug his older sibling but got pushed back.

"Get out," The dark haired boy said flatly. "I have tried everything to get you to fight. Fighting is the only answer whether you like it or not! I don't want you to get yourself seriously hurt! But maybe some time in the streets will toughen you up!" He grabbed the little boy and walked him to the door, and threw him out. The little boy was alone in the dark. He heard the lock in the door click. The boy started sobbing. And when he had cried late into the night, hiccupping and coughing, he calmed down. He curled into a ball on the broken down porch and whispered soothingly to himself until he fell asleep.

"Ryan is a good brother, trying to, hic, teach me. Not wanting me hurt. He's a, hic, good brother, the best brother. No matter what Gareth says, hic, he's a good brother. The perfect one to take care of mommy. She's lucky to have, hic, him, I'm lucky to have him. He's a good brother. Ryan's a good brother. I love him...hic...and I know he loves me back...he has to..."

* * *

><p>"Hello child!" An ugly man with greasy hair and horrible, metallic arms greeted the small, shivering boy on a porch.<p>

"Hello Mr." The boy was pressing himself against the door, hoping his brother would come out.

"I've come to take you and your brother away. You will be assisting me on an experiment," The man smiled. It wasn't a friendly smile. The little boy suddenly turned and started banging on the door. The octopus man stopped him and lifted him into the air. He laughed and took his newest prisoner in the direction of the sewer system.

"My big brother's gonna be here any minute!" The little boy shouted. He was strapped to a metal table. The Octopus man "walked" over with a syringe.

"My first test subject, the first of many. The DNA of a black panther. A quite beautiful specimen," He wheezed. he stabbed the needle into the boy. Nothing happened.

It continued like that for the next year. Each day the octopus man would torture the boy until he was broken, and injected him with more animal serum. Each day nothing happened. And each day, the boy cried out that his brother was coming to save him. One day, as the boy was being electrocuted, realization hit him. His brother was never coming. Something inside the boy snapped and the over dosage of serum transformed him into a monster. He ripped through Octopus Man's lab and in the process, accidently freed another prisoner. The black panther ran into the night and collapsed in a heap in an alley, a small, shivering boy, once more.

* * *

><p><strong>Yes, yes I was trying to make you cry... Anyway...<strong>

**Wolf out...**


	9. What Vulture Even Eats

**Ok, so I mentioned that there were 6 students, and I've introduced 5 (not counting Runt), but I can't think of anything for the sixth one.  
>It has to be animal themed, and including Vulture, I already have two that can fly so...R&amp;R !<strong>

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own U.S.M**

* * *

><p><strong>Luke's pov<strong>

We walked and climbed through the crowded jungle for almost half an hour.

"Your going the wrong way," We froze. The tree nearest to us rustled. A small boy jumped out of the branches.

"Runt?" We all gasped. He looked so much stronger, more sure.

"What did you do?" Danny whispered intently.

"I...I...I don't have to explain myself to the people who left me behind!" He finished. Danny narrowed his eyes. His posture was rigid, leaning slightly towards Runt. I was worried we'd have to hold him back when his shoulders relaxed and he straightened.

"Fine, but there is a miniscule difference between powerful dreams, and powerful memories," He said, still staring at Runt. I knew him so well, that even through the bandana, I could sense that he was disturbed for some reason.

"Anyway..." Pete tried to break the tension, "You wouldn't remember where Adrian lives around here, would you?" He asked. Runt nodded and we all followed him through the underbrush until we emerged into a clearing. The trees were arranged in a massive circle around the perimeter. On six of the trees, decent sized tree-houses rested on the highest braches. On a seventh, was a huge tree-fort. The wooden rope bridges that connected each home ran up the side of the seventh tree, merging into one big bridge and ending outside the front of the house. The home itself was made out of the same wood and sat at the very top of the jungle tree, with what appeared to be two stories.

"Huh, its not the sewers, but props for originality," Pete whistled. We rolled our eyes. As we headed towards a staircase that led to the bridges, I noticed Runt wasn't following.

"What's wrong?" Ava asked him, immediately alert.

"I can't face him. I'm sorry, you guys can go," He started turning away.

"Tobias!" Danny called after him. He stopped and looked at Danny.

"Leaper told me," Danny explained. Runt's eyes widened.

"She, she..." He stuttered. Danny nodded.

"No mountain is too great an obstacle for friendship to overcome. She still cares dude. She believes in her best friend, don't let her down," Danny said, and Runt nodded.

"Lets go!" He said, and we did.

* * *

><p>The bridges proved to be reliable, they didn't brake under me, nor squeak. When we got within ten feet of Vultures house though, It wasn't pretty.<p>

"Spidey-sense!" Pete tensed, we did the same.

"Look out!" Runt and Danny yelled and simultaneously shoved/tackled Pete as three daggers whizzed past where he'd been. Runt and Danny looked at each other in puzzlement. _Slap! Slap! Slap! _It sounded like a fish out of water.

Out of the shadows, a kid about our age came out wielding more daggers. He had dark spiky hair and large, unblinking fish eyes. His face was slightly elongated and his huge mouth was full of small, pointed teeth. His costume was skin tight, and red with black tiger-like stripes. He had a protruding fin, coming out of his back.

"So, I'm guessing you're not here to wish us good luck are you?" Webbs asked seriously, Ava face-palmed.

"I am Barracuda," He hissed, getting into a fighting position. He looked at Runt, and growled. He charged and stabbed a dagger into me, or at least he tried. The blade broke in half. In the brief hesitation, Danny slammed his fist into him. Barracuda closed his mouth around Danny's hand, and started running the blade of another knife down his chest. Tiger slashed at him and he released Danny, who stepped back clutching his am.

Peter webbed his mouth and I threw him into the air. Sam blasted him back down onto Danny who kicked him into Ava. Ava electrocuted Barracuda with her claws and he fell back, unconscious.

"Wow! I'm impressed. Good teamwork guys!" Webbs nodded in approval. He looked over at Barracuda, or where Barracuda _used_ to be. Pete suddenly jumped straight up and we just had time to see Barracuda slash at the air with his knives. Pete landed next to me. Barracuda hissed and crouched.

"Run?" I asked. Pete gulped.

"Run!" He answered, and we made for Vulture's tree house.

I looked over my shoulder and saw Barracuda sprinting towards one of the other houses. _That's not good, _I inwardly sighed.

"Bro...you good?" Danny was still holding his arm. He grimaced as he ran, but nodded. Before any more mutant kids showed up, we made it to the top of Vulture's tree. Danny sat in the lotus position and closed his eyes. We waited as he healed himself. His eyes fluttered and he jerked forward.

"I'm ready," His voice was slightly shaky. Peter shrugged and started toward Vulture's door.

"Ok, so we need to go around the side and bust our way through!" He said. We were all getting ready to punch/blast the walls when Ava decided to do things the easy way.

"We could just walk through the front door," She said.

"Um, obviously it's locked," Sam said, we nodded in agreement. She turned the wooden handle and the door swung open easily. She waltzed in with her head held high and hands on her hips. We followed behind her with slouched shoulders. Peter muttered something about "entrances being everything."

The inside was huge but mostly bare. There was a staircase to the left and a doorway on the right. I walked closer and saw that it led to small kitchen.

"What would Vulture even eat?" Pete wondered out-loud. Sam opened a smallish fridge and the smell of rotten meat washed over us.

"I should have seen that coming," Peter moaned. Even after Sam slammed the refrigerator door shut, the smell lingered. We turned to see Ava and Danny laughing at us from the stairs.

"Worse...gag...than...choke...Nova's feet!" Pete dramatically pretended to faint and Sam placed one foot one him and his hands on his hips victoriously as if he had just conquered him.

"Come on!" Ava sighed, but we heard the smile in her voice. The second floor was similar to the first. There was another doorway. We all heard the voices coming through and Peter motioned for us to be quiet. We tiptoed to the door, opened it a crack, and peeked through.

"You know, for a villain, you seem like a nice boy," A dark skinned woman was telling a pale, tall, dark haired boy.

"You remind me of our son," An Africa-American man added.

"Speaking of which, I have looked into it. Your son came to look for you at Scorpio's lab about a year ago. He fell into a vat of an acidic chemical and..." The boy trailed off. The lady gripped her husband's hand.

"The serum, he should be invulnerable, he couldn't have just-" The man was cut off by his wife's sob.

"He should've been and he was, but he drowned in the thick substance," The boy lowered his head. The couple stared at him in shock, then lowered their heads too. My friends looked at me, frozen. My mind shut down, and all I could do, was bow my head like the people inside. The silence was tense and deafening. I was being strangled by it. The only sounds were my heart pounding, and the heart-broken sobs of the woman, and her husband.

* * *

><p><strong> Once again, my story's coming to an end, but I guess Vulture's house-guests have it worse than I do...Anyway..<strong>

**Wolf out...**


	10. Together

**I figure this'll only last about another one-two chapter(s) but I'll make them as memorable as possible. Anyway, R&R!**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own U.S.M **

* * *

><p><strong>Luke's pov<strong>

"I'm sorry...I truly am sorry..." Vulture whispered as a tear ran down his face. A tear that meant nothing! A tear that meant absolutely nothing!

"Please, don't be, it isn't your fault," The woman's voice broke.

"She's right. I guess it's better to know, than to always be wondering. But he won't ever really be gone, I feel as if he were right in the next room!" The man let out a dry laugh, not noticing Vulture wincing at the word, _wondering. _No one else laughed, his wife managed a grimy smile. I couldn't even do that much. I couldn't comprehend the words. I was a statue, sitting numbly as the red-hot rage consumed me.

"You've done so much for us. You even let us change Black Cobra's poison to non-lethal. What can we do to repay you?" The lady was so desperate to change the subject. She used that bright voice people use when they're trying not to cry.

"Nothing, all I ever wanted was someone to talk to. You both have already given me everything," He sighed. I heard a door softlyy close somewhere behind me.

"Well if you need anything, tell us. Well, we have quite a lot to think about, so we'll be going. But thanks again for...for letting us know. And remember, we're there for you, consider yourself part of the family, son," The man smiled weakly as he and his wife got up. That was it. I might have been able to take them thinking I was dead, but not them calling this liar...son.

"No!" I was standing up as my friends tried to hold me back. Everyone inside turned to look at me.

"Adrian who is this?" The lady who I could no longer call my mom asked. He shook his head slowly, backing away.

"I don't know..." He lied, again!

"No!" I couldn't say anything else.

"NO NO NO NO NO NO!" I shrieked.

"Calm yourself Powerman," Danny was at my side.

"NO!" I walked into the room and headed straight for Vulture.

"Adrian!" The man screamed. Without warning, I slammed my fist into him, knocking the wind out of him. He gasped and transformed into his bird form. He staggered through the window and flapped his wings madly. Suddenly, we saw the other mutants storm into the room. I looked around and saw that Runt had disappeared.

"Get them!" Barracuda hissed from the front of the group. Dimly, I noticed a sixth member we hadn't seen yet. He was slightly bigger than me, and wore a dark purple jump-suit. His face was covered in shaggy black fur and his eyes were bright blue. He roared and I could see multiple sharp teeth in his mouth.

"Lock Jaw," Black Cobra hissed at the bear-like mutant, "Get the one with ssssunglassses! Night Sssshade!" Now he addressed the bat girl, "Crusssh the ssspider. Leaper, the living torch! Claw, dessstroy the white kitten. Barracuda, you and me will take care of glowing fisssst!" They attacked. Lock Jaw and I wrestled for a minute before I slammed him into a wall. He was getting up when the wooden wall caved and disconnected from the house, forcing him to fall down the tree. He landed on a branch and was knocked unconscious, but wasn't hurt. I wanted to help my friends, especially Danny, who was struggling to fend off Barracuda and Black Cobra. But I was on a mission, and I couldn't be stopped.

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><p><strong>Nobody's pov<strong>

The team watched Powerman climb out the window and saw him scaling the branches outside. They couldn't do much except hope he didn't cause trouble. Iron Fist was practically a blur of yellow energy. He threw punches and kicked and flipped and dodged, but his opponents kept coming. Cobra had sunk his fangs into him for the fourth time and he was getting sluggish and Barracuda had bitten his leg, hard. He was leaning his weight to his left foot and kept missing crucial hits. Finally, he managed to knock a few of Barracuda's teeth out, which kept the biting at bay. Iron Fist grabbed Black Cobra by the tail and hurled him into Tiger, who was about to slash at Claw, and was going to miss. She cut the end of Black Cobra's tail instead and he slithered into a corner to asses his wounds. Momentarily free of enemies, he ran to the window. Iron Fist saw his best friend screaming at the hovering Vulture.

"Why Adrian, why," He sighed in frustration, then, began to run.

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><p><strong>Luke's pov<strong>

Vulture screamed, then dived at me. I caught him, punched his beak until I heard it crack, then released him. He dived again, but as I was getting ready to catch him, he banked and flew back up, scratching my face with his talons. He actually scratched me!

"How?" I asked.

"My little helpers!" He laughed dryly. I jumped straight up and tried to grab him mid-air, but now he had the advantage. He flew below me, so I was lying on his back, and barrel-rolled until I fell back onto a branch. I hit my head hard and the instant nausea and shock forced me to stay still. He pumped his wings and went in to land a fatal blow with his talons. He was so close, and I could only stare at him, waiting for the pain that was coming, closer, closer...

"Ki-Yah!" All I saw was a flash of gold and Vulture went spiraling off course into a lower branch. Danny gracefully flipped onto my branch and helped me up.

"This isn't your fight," I told him.

"Indeed, it is ours," He grinned. I nodded and smiled, the anger inside me fading slightly.

"Sweet!" I said and got into my fighting stance. And as Vulture came back around, we punched him, together.

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><p><strong>AW! Beacuase there's no better way to bond, than punching someone together. :) Anyway, I am disappointed that no one did my contest apart from one person so I'll tell you guys the answer at the end of the story, which will be soon, so...<strong>

**Wolf out...**


	11. I Know Now

**Sorry it took a while to update.**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own U.S.M but I made the song up.**

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><p><strong>Nobody's pov<strong>

The man and women were just beginning to cry when he left. He knew how to be quiet, invisible, he'd had a lot of experience. But while he was running, he saw Barracuda knocking on every door. He was no doubt going to warn the rest of the students. Runt hesitated for only a second, then decided that he had caused enough trouble amongst the mutants. He should just let the heroes deal with it. Before he could feel guilty, Runt ran behind Leaper's tree house. There was a hollow space in one huge branch that he and Leaper had played in. He sat there now. She wasn't home, Barracuda was going to have to call her on his communicator. Runt suddenly felt tired, so tired, he curled up in the hollow and fell into a deep sleep.

Sleep now child.

And when you wake.

We'll all be here, together.

Sleep now child.

And always know.

That mommy's here, forever.

A pretty lady with long,dark brown hair and green eyes was standing over a crib. She took out a crying infant and rocked him in her arms.

When you have doubts.

And you don't know.

You will never.

Be alone.

The kid sniffled and the lady bundled him in an old, ragged blue blanket. She tickled his nose and he sneezed gently, causing her to giggle.

When life is dark.

And you feel cursed.

Just know that someone.

Has it worse.

The baby smiled and added his high voice to the song. The lady hugged him to her chest and spun around slowly.

Always forgive.

Always be kind.

And color and beauty in life,

You'll find.

The child's peculiar eyes closed and he began snoring softly. The woman lowered him into the crib and softly sang the last verse as she backed out of the room.

Sleep now child.

And when you wake.

We'll all be here, together.

Sleep now child.

And always know.

That mommy's here, forever.

Forever, I'll be here.

The last thing the child heard was not the last note of his mother's song, but harsh coughing and his mother's voice calling his brother to come help her to bed. But the baby was what he was, and though he didn't understand what was happening, he knew that he shouldn't disturb it by crying. So he uttered a small whimper, and fell asleep.

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><p>Runt jolted awake. He had had another memory dream! The last one he'd had was in the dungeon! And now he remembered what his mother looked like. But he wondered why this was happening now. He thought hard. It hadn't started until after the new heroes came. Especially the one with green eyes. He scared Runt, the way he stared, just like Adrian had stared at him. What was it that he had said? <em>There is a miniscule difference between powerful dreams, and powerful memories...<em>

_"_Weird," Runt muttered to himself. Powerful dreams and memories? Did that mean that all of his dreams reflected past. Now that he thought about it, he couldn't remember having any dreams until they all showed up. Well, none except...but did that count as a dream, or a nightmare? Every time he closed his eyes, he would dream of destruction. He would float in a red expanse, all he could feel was anger and betrayal. And he couldn't see or hear it, but he knew he was destroying. He just knew. Suddenly, his head started pounding.

"Ooh!" He moaned as it became intense. He screamed as quietly as he could but he couldn't help it. It hurt beyond words, he was unconscious, then conscious, then unconscious, and conscious again. The pain ate him alive and he blacked out for a final time, clutching his head.

**Danny's pov**

Luke and I fought Vulture for a few minutes before he flew away to another tree where I saw some sort of warehouse. He was going to gear up, because he was losing. He was a coward. Either way, I could use the break. My head was beginning to hurt, and the poison blurred my vision slightly.

"I don't know what I'll do to that bird-brained, sick, evil-" Luke ranted beside me.

"He's not evil," It was hard to keep the annoyance from my tone through the pain.

"Did you not just see what he did?" He yelled.

"No one is evil, just misguided," I said absentmindedly. I was using my chi to find the source of my headache.

"Call him whatever. He's still evil," He muttered. We heard the others still fighting.

"We should help our friends," I said.

"Just like Runt helped us," Luke replied snidely.

"What?" I hadn't noticed he was gone.

"He left before the mutants showed up," Luke added. I closed my eyes without explanation, Luke knew what I was doing. I was trying to reach him through dream-walking. I found his energy source and zeroed in on him. I connected immediately, which meant he was asleep. The pain worsened drastically and I felt my body spasm. I was feeling what Runt felt.I cut the connection quickly and sat there panting and gasping.

"What was that?" Luke asked in panic. I couldn't form the words, so I just shook my head.

"Danny! Can you hear me?" He waved his finger back and forth in front of my face. My eyes unwillingly followed it. It hurt so much. I tried to speak and choked on air.

"I know," I managed.

"What?" He asked.

"Runt...I know who he is...I know," my eyelids were heavy but I fought to stay awake. My head finally cleared and I allowed Luke to help me up.

"Who is he?" He questioned. I told him and Luke's eye's widened.

"You gonna tell both of them?" He asked. I nodded.

"Or better yet, I could show them, although I suspect Runt may already know," I said.

"Frist though, we have to help the team," Luke gestured to Adrian's destroyed home. And as we ran toward it I thought about what I had glimpsed before I cut off he connection with Runt. And finally, it all made sense.

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><p><strong>Ooh! What does Danny know? What happened to Runt? What's Luke going to do to Vulture? Find out in the next chapter! Also, I never knew why writers love to do evil laughs at the end of chapters with loads of questions, but now I do!<strong>

**MUAHAHAHAHA! Anyway...**

**Wolf out...**


	12. Come Out Little Bird

**Ok, so technically you can't be mad at me for not revealing anything because you could figure it yourself...maybe...**

**Anyway, hope you guys enjoy the chapter and story in general.**

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><p><strong>Luke's pov<strong>

We made quick work of the mutants, and they all ran away in minutes. All of them except Leaper, who paused by the window.

"You lied. He's not in the dungeons," Her voice broke, and she glared at us with so much hatred that I stepped back. Then, she hauled her bruised frame through the window. The last thing she said was, "And Adrian won't even care."

"Monster!" I felt something break against my skin. I turned and saw my parents trying to inject me with something blue. Their eyes widened and they started shaking.

"What-what are you?" My dad asked. Rage bubbled inside me until I couldn't contain it.

"What am I? You wanna know what I am? You made me like this! Your super solider serum! You made me like this! You made this monster!" I screamed. They cowered below me.

"The serum? But that would-that would mean..." The woman gasped and covered her mouth to stifle a cry. I was quivering with anger. I raised a fist.

"Don't. This isn't you. Focus Powerman," Danny stood in front of my parents, the traitors. The others made a circle around them.

"Come on Powerman, we can talk about this," Spidey raised his hands in surrender.

"Move," I warned. They stood their ground. So this was how they wanted to play it. I shoved Danny out of the way and he went flying into the wall. My team stared in shock. He stumbled back up and leaned against the wall for support.

"Powerman please! No man is evil, neither are you," I hesitated only a little.

"Please! Listen to him! If not to us, then listen to your friends! Please...son," My dad whispered. I stopped.

"Wha-what?" I was suddenly confused.

"We're sorry. We thought you were...we're so sorry," Mom said.

"I didn't mean to. I would never. I wasn't thinking. I-I-I love you guys," I threw my arms over them and we all cried and laughed together. And those next four words filled me with extraordinary happiness, and relief.

"We love you Luke."

**Runt's pov**

I woke up knowing. Knowing. It was such a strange word to me...knowing. But with the knowing came something else, anger. Anger so intense it hurt. I knew why I was mad, I finally knew. I climbed out of the hollow and ran. I ran to the storage tree. It was where Adrian stored his armor. Surely enough, he was up there.

"Liar! You untrustworthy Liar!" I screamed. He looked at me in surprise.

"Runt? What are you saying? Why are you here?" He asked. He could have torn me to shreds, but he didn't. Confusion was stopping him from attacking and I used that to my advantage.

"You don't remember! None of you remember! But you're a sick liar Adrian! And you're going to pay!" My vision went red and I noticed my fingers hurting, tingling. I looked down and saw claws breaking through the skin. It didn't stop my ranting.

"I did nothing to you, and all my life you have tortured me!" I lunged at him and felt the confidence and strength of a big cat. Long, black fur sprouted from my face and body, a tail shot out behind me. My ears rounded and traveled up my head. My knees bended the wrong way and I fell onto all fours. I snarled and bared my fangs.

"Runt! Tobias, you're doing it! You're transforming!" He was excited, but he wouldn't be for long." I coiled up like a spring. I let the indescribable feeling of liquid power flow through me. I was a black panther.

"I am Shadow...and you're my meat!" I pounced on his neck. He squawked and slashed at me with his talons. I let go enough for him to fly away, over the open branches. I ran after him, pounds upon pounds of rippling muscle and spring-like legs. I sprinted and leapt in fluid, hypnotic motions. He was flying lopsidedly and low. It would be so easy to jump him. But it would be more fun to taunt him.

I watched him duck into another tree, this one with densely crowded branches. I easily jumped onto it and slowed to a swaggering walk.

"Adrian...Adrian...come out little bird," I smelled him nearby. A leaf moved to my left and I pounced onto nothing. But I had heard an intake of breath when I 'd jumped. I knew exactly where my prey was.

"You brought this on yourself little bird. I really am sad that I have to do this. But justice isn't always pretty, little bird. And neither is life, but don't worry about that little bird...yours will be over soon anyway," As I spoke I got closer and closer to where he was hiding. Jumping onto his quivering frame, I batted him through the branches with a massive paw. He barely even responded and I noticed his eyes were closed. I hit his wing, breaking it instantly. He still didn't move. I was getting mad.

"Maybe some sleep will jog your memory...," I used my tail to throw him against the tree trunk, his crumpled form slumping against the wood.

**Danny's pov**

I was glad to see Luke so happy. Peter and Sam were just helping me up from where Luke shoved me when a dizzy spell overtook me and I fell back down. Now the eyes were on me.

"Vision," I mumbled before darkness encased me.

"Iron Fist! Help...hurts...can't...breathe..." I heard a broken voice and saw Adrian being tossed around by some type of cat.

"Is that...Runt?" I didn't need to ask. I already knew. I had known.

"Yes, no, sort-of, he calls himself Shadow. He's not making sense, he called me a liar and just...transformed," He said desperately.

"I'm on my way. Don't try to fight him or anger him. It feeds him. The madder he gets, the more stable and powerful his form is." And with that, the image blurred and swirled until it became the expectant faces of my friends, and Luke's parents.

"Well..." Ava asked.

"Adrian and Runt need our help," I said, standing up.

"Then what are we waiting for? Help, is what we do!" Peter smiled under the mask. I nodded.

"Right, here's the plan," It took some explaining, but soon we were on our way to the tree I'd seen in the vision._ Hang on Adrian, hang on._

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><p><strong>And now the hunter...becomes the hunted, sort of. Don't worry, I'll probably reveal everything in the next chap which should be out tomorrow or the day after. Anyway...<strong>

**Wolf out...**


	13. Revealed At Last

**A little bit of a longer chapter because there was a lot to explain. I realize that while this was intended to mainly be about Luke, it has more Danny in it than him. Habits! So I may change the story description.**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't know why I bother with these, I still own nothing!**

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><p><strong>Danny's pov<strong>

When we arrived at the scene, all I could do was stare. A large panther was lazily smacking a shattered Adrian through the branches.

"I loved you, cared about you. But now...little bird, I've learned. Learned to hate, to not care, how to fight. I've learned to be. Just. Like. you," With every word he hit him harder.

"Is that him?" Ava asked. I sensed she was slightly impressed with his cat form. I would have grinned, but I couldn't. I nodded at everyone, and they got in position. Except for the Cages.

"Why do we have to help the one who lied about our Luke?" Mrs. Cage demanded.

"You don't have to do anything. If you help or not, is your choice, but it would be the right thing," I told them. They sighed, and followed the others. The plan was for Ava, Pete and Sam to lead Runt-or Shadow-away from Adrian so that the Cages could tranquilize him. While they did that, I would get to Adrian, with Luke as my backup.

"Here kitty kitty! Here kitty!" Sam taunted. Shadow snarled.

"Please Bucket-Head, cats wouldn't be attracted to you if you had a necklace made of fish!" Peter retorted.

"Well...they...um...would be less attracted to someone who leaps around in his pajamas!" Sam yelled.

"Do you know how long it took to make this costume?" Peter fumed.

"Yeah, like five minutes," Sam crossed his arms. I shook my head. Shadow was just watching them, amused and confused at the same time.

"Idiots..." Ava sighed. She walked calmly to the front of their group. She held her head high, back straight, and tensed her shoulders, then uttered some sort of guttural growl from the back of her throat. She was challenging him, appealing to his animal side. Peter and Sam watched in shock as Shadow growled even louder, and bounded down the tree branches to land gracefully at their feet.

"How did..." Sam started.

"No clue," Pete answered as they started fighting. Shadow was powerful, but my teammates were jut enough to hold him off. They were slowly heading in the direction of the Cages, who were hiding in some bushes.

"Lets go," I said to Luke. We began climbing. I jumped quickly from branch to branch, but Luke was having more trouble. He had to rip off some of the leaves and tree limbs before jumping each time.

"I'll catch up!" He yelled up to me, I hesitated, then continued climbing and leaping up the tree. I spotted Adrian just above me. I made a final jump and sat next to him.

"You came?" He inquired.

"Of course friend," His question threw me off.

"But...I...I nearly...I wanted to...but you came," His eyes rolled up in his head as I used my chi to heal him.

"I didn't want to refuse you, when you asked for your memories. You weren't ready for them," I whispered.

"Am I ready now?" He asked.

"Lets find out," I pressed a glowing hand on his head and closed my eyes.

* * *

><p><strong>Adrian's pov<strong>

I was floating. Suddenly I was falling, falling forever through blurs of color and abstract shapes and dizzying shadows. I hit the ground hard. The floor was covered in a lush carpet and stretched through a long corridor. The walls were dark wood and on them, each about a foot a part, were doors. Each door was a different pattern and color, with the nearest being yellow with orange stripes.

"Hello?" I asked out loud. Hearing no reply, I decided to enter the doorways. I went through the striped one and emerged in a bright field. There was a small, rundown playground and the only people in it were a mother and child. She appeared to be teaching a small boy how to swing.

_"I'm scared!" He squealed as the hinges creaked and sagged._

_"That's it! Keep swinging your legs Ryan!"_

_"_Excuse me! I'm lost!" I tried to get their attention, but they couldn't hear me. I walked up to the woman and waved a hand in front of her. She continued to encourage the child obliviously. I ran back out of the field and into the hallway. I ran and ran until I came to a part of the carpet that was old and torn. The walls were molded and full of holes. Even the doors were mostly shades of gray. But I didn't care, I opened a random one and walked into a small, dirty house.

"Get out!" I heard a voice and saw a boy slightly younger than me, with dark hair and eyes, screaming at a small boy... with different colored eyes. The small boy walked outside and I followed just before the door closed. But it was blank, outside the door was a void of no color. If these were my memories, then I hadn't experienced this part. I could hear though, which meant that my other self was listening from the other side of the door.

"A good brother," The little boy kept saying. I caved in on the inside and my knees weakened. When I saw those eyes I had been confused, but I never thought...I never thought that we...and I was floating again. Images swirled around my head. A sick mother, a tortured brother, fighting and lashing out until I made sure people were hurt, bad. And with the images came thoughts.

"No! Stop it! Stop it!" I yelled at the thoughts. _Protect Mother. Keep them safe. Idiot brothers always getting themselves hurt. I don't have time for this, for him. _

"Stop it! Go away!" _Mother says to call her mommy, but a mommy cares for her kids. I shouldn't have to be her nurse. She should deal with it. She should be saving me. From myself. Who even am I? _

"NO! Go away! GO AWAY!" _Tobias is a selfish fool. Making me defend him because he refuses to fight. But how else is the little runt going to survive. We don't have money to feed ourselves, certainly none to waste on his injuries! He should be gone! I can't do this!_ _I hate Tobias, that runt, I hate Runt! For making me worry, I need him to be safe. _

"Relax Adrian, or should I say Ryan," A calm voice that wasn't my own, rang out.

"You! Make it stop, please!" I begged Iron Fist.

"I can't stop them without taking away your memories," He said.

"But, no! These aren't my memories! They can't be! How can Runt-Tobias- and I be...brothers," The idea was weird. Of all the fantasies I'd had of having family, I'd always pictured myself as an only child.

"Besides," I added desperately, "I would never do that, to anyone!"

"Do what?" He asked knowingly.

"You know! Those...things! I'm the reason he was tortured by Doc Ock! I'm the reason he was out in the streets! I'm the reason he was being hurt in school! It's my fault! But it-it can't be! That's not the person I am!" I was sobbing. I needed him to believe me. I needed confirmation that I wasn't a monster.

"And yet you continued to cause him pain, in your recent memory. You locked him away and starved him. You isolated him and let the others insult him, just like a few years ago. And besides, I was under the impression that you didn't know what type of person you were. Is that not why I gave you your memories?" He pointed out. I hated him because he was right.

"No..." I had known all along who I was. People don't change just because they don't remember. Habits and personalities don't change. I was someone cruel and scared. A coward so afraid of himself, that I had to hurt others so they would keep their distance, harden myself so that I could protect the ones I loved. But that wasn't the way it worked. To protect someone you have to defend them, love them, be there for them.

"Well Adrian, what do you say?" Iron Fist asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Do you think that Tobias is right to be mad at you?" I started sobbing even harder and nodded.

"Yes, yes he is right. I'm mad at myself too, but I can only imagine how mad he is! But he shouldn't fight either!" I declared, suddenly determined.

"I trust you know what to do, yes? Iron Fist's voice began to fade.

"Yeah, I think I do," And the void blurred and ran together until I was lying on the familiar tree branch, fully healed. Iron Fist was there, smiling at me weakly, and someone else too. It was the son of my helpers.

"Sorry. I just wanted a family. Someone to talk to. But I don't have the best of luck when it comes to family affairs, and it's my fault," I lowered my head and waited for him to punch me, scream at me, anything.

"Not a lot of us heroes do, dude. I forgive you, I know how it is, wanting a family. Although you can't just steal someone else's," He chuckled. I looked at him, at both of them. And I decided that my past didn't influence who I was. My decisions did. I had made many bad ones, which led to me becoming this, monster. But looking at these two heroes, my friends, I knew exactly what kind of person I had decided to be from now on.

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><p><strong>And all is revealed! I really hope everyone likes my attempt at a plot twist! Also, thanks to my ever-faithful reviewer, TheImmortalWeapon for supporting the story and I hope you liked this chapter. Anyway...<strong>

**Wolf out...**


	14. Hunter and Prey

**Wow, this is a lot longer than my first story, which is awesome because that makes this my longest story yet! Thanks to TheImmortalWeapon for reviewing, and without further comments on my part, read/enjoy this chapter!**

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><p><strong>Nobody's pov<strong>

Meanwhile, Spiderman, White Tiger, and Nova were engaged with Shadow. The Cages had shot him several times with the tranquilizer, which had done nothing but annoy the large cat.

"What do we do?" Nova yelled down to the group, he had just come back from transporting Luke's parents to a nearby tree so they could be safe.

"We have to hold him down until Iron Fist gets back!" White Tiger replied as she flipped out of the way of a massive paw. Shadow pounced on Spiderman and clawed at his stomach. Three parallel lines of blood appeared and Shadow lunged for his neck, but was blasted into the air by Nova. He twisted mid-air and landed perfectly.

"Come on!" Nova sighed loudly.

"Hi-Ya!" White Tiger leapt onto his back and kicked his ears. Shadow was thrown off-balance and missed his next swipe. Spiderman webbed his paws together, only to have Shadow rip them almost immediately. The big cat used him to jump onto Tiger, who he used as a trampoline to get to Nova. Nova tried to fly higher but he wasn't fast enough and Shadow managed to get a hold of his arm, his sharp fangs ripping the boy's costume.

"Tobias! Your fight is with me!" A healthy looking Vulture joined the young heroes.

"Yes it is, and what a _fight_ it will be, brother," Shadow released Nova in order to speak, dropping onto the ground.

**Tobias' pov**

Adrian didn't seem surprised by my comment. I saw the green-eyed hero with his friend running towards us and realized that it had been him. His presence had given me those dreams, and perhaps he had given them to Adrian too. The anger was indescribable, I couldn't even speak. So instead, I ran as fast as I could. I knew he was following me, so I jumped and dove through the underbrush and headed toward a large hill. When I got there, I turned around to face my brother.

"Well Tobias, what are you waiting for?" He asked quietly.

"That isn't my name anymore! I am Shadow!" I growled.

"You wouldn't hurt me Toby. And I wouldn't hurt you either, not anymore," He whispered, but my sensitive ears heard it loud and clear.

"Liar! That's all you ever do! You lie and hurt and lie some more!" My voice sounded rougher, but it was probably because of all the growling and yelling.

"Please Toby! I need you to believe me! We're...brothers!" He pleaded as I jumped four feet in the air only to come down with artificial feathers in my mouth. I spat and crouched down, hissing.

"This isn't you! You never fought, ever!"

"Until you condemned me to torture and agony! And it wasn't even tentacle man's serums and shocks that caused my pain. It was waking up every day knowing, hoping you would come for me, and being constantly disappointed! And don't say this isn't me Adrian! Because with every horrible thing you've done, Shadow has grown and grown until it broke out. This is who I am, and it's all your fault!" The springs in my legs propelled me into the air and I landed on top of him, my weight bringing both of us down, hard.

"Now, you're going to feel my pain...Ryan!" I scowled as much as a cat can. I didn't notice that my voice was not my own. It was rougher, guttural.

"Tobias I won't fight. You have learned from me, I want to learn from you, the real you!" I wanted to tell him that it was too late, that he had caused this, but I couldn't. My muzzle wasn't flexible enough to form the words. _What was happening?_ I shook it off and kept fighting. Twisting, jerking, biting, but he didn't fight. He dodged, but didn't attack. My anger grew and I felt my fur grow longer. My vision enhanced at the same time as my sense of smell and hearing. The new senses were too much, my head exploded.

"Yee-oow! Yoowwwlll! Grrrree-oooww!" I tried to scream but my throat kept making high-pitched cat noises. My chest tightened when I realized I couldn't speak or make any human sounds.

"Toby?" Adrian asked, but I couldn't answer. I grew an inch taller and I smelled his fear. I heard his blood pumping through his little bird body, his heart beating madly. _Thump, Thump ,Thumpthumpthumpthump! _The sound drove me into a frenzy, with renewed energy, I clawed at him and lunged at him at warp speed. It wasn't the fighting style I had used earlier, it was the un-planned, no-thought action of a wild animal. But I was beyond caring. My prey was right in front of me, and I wanted it. I growled and pounced on his chest, slashing and biting his wings until I knew he wouldn't be able to fly. But he screeched and the sound blew me back. I yowled at the already powerful noise, amplified in my furry ears.

"You're not stable, don't let the panther take over. Don't let Shadow win!"

"Hiissss!" My ears recovered and I ran at him again. He couldn't run with his bird legs so he had one choice...revert back to human. Now he could run, but he couldn't outrun me. And now that he was a puny human, I could easily eat him. _Wait? What? Eat him! I didn't want to do that! Or did I? He looked so frail, so helpless..so delicious! _ I ran beside him, flanking until he veered left just enough that he was now running at a tree. He stopped and looked at me. He was cornered, I took a minute to let satisfaction wash over me, then I held my head high and sauntered toward him.

"Pppprrrrrrr!" I purred happily. I was absolutely euphoric, my meal was right there, and I had already gotten to play with him too!

"Please Toby! Hear me out!" I continued walking.

"I...I'm sorry. I am so, so sorry for what I've done to you," I was getting closer and he pressed his body against the tree trunk.

"And, and I forgive you for trying to kill me. You shouldn't fight, but you're right for being mad," My gait slowed slightly as I tried to comprehend what the human had just said. He saw this and spoke faster.

"That's right, I forgive you Tobias. I will never forgive myself, but I forgive you...brother," I slowed my pace further and cocked my head. Something about the way he spoke...it came through.

"You're a good brother. A very good brother. I love you man...and I know you love me too!" Wait a minute, I had said that. He'd been listening to me, from the door. He cared! But he must have not been there when I was taken...

"Grrrdrian?" I forced my throat to form words.

"Aaarrrrddrian?" My head started hurting again and I buried it in my paws. My eyes rolled up and my tail twitched erratically as I yowled and wailed and hissed in pan.

"You're ok Toby, you're ok. Just hang in there brother, you're ok," He repeated the mantra over and over until it was all I could focus on as the burning pain raged on through my body and as my ebony fur was sucked back into my skin.

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><p><strong>I enjoyed writing this so much! I love animals and writing from their povs is awesome! This is partly dedicated to the probably less-than 1% of the world who has ever read the Animorph series. Anyway...<strong>

**Wolf out...**


	15. May Our Paths Cross Again

**While I'm sad that this is the last chapter, the end of one story is simply an open door where another can begin. Thanks a million to TheImmortalWeapon for reviewing and liking the story. Also, if you guys read "The Struggles of World Domination," it is currently on hold due to immense writer's block. Hope everyone likes this, and are disclaimers necessary anymore...we all know I own only my OCs.**

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><p><strong>Tobias' pov<strong>

"He's waking up,"

"What exactly happened?"

"I think his Shadow form was unstable," I heard voices. I tried to open my eyes and winced at the light. There were eight faces above me, two were obviously older though.

"What? What just..." I groaned.

"Tobias, what can you remember?" A calming voice spoke first.

"I remember my brother...Ryan...Adrian trying to hurt me. But I forgive him. And he forgave me too. Thanks," I sat up. Adrian, the heroes, and two adults came into focus. Adrian smiled awkwardly. I smiled back. Being brothers would take some adjusting to. I heard a high-pitched voice in the distance. The rest of the team was running over to us, Leaper was in the front.

"Toby! Tobias!" She jumped at me and embraced me in a hug so tight I couldn't breathe.

"Emily!" I hugged back.

"If these idiots did anything to you...that goes for you too Adrian!" She yelled. I touched her shoulder gently.

"They didn't do anything Em. I transformed and broke out myself. I fought Adrian, and I also figured out some stuff about my past," I beamed.

"Adrian, what happened?" Night Shade asked us.

"I'll tell you all the details tonight, but there is something I have to say now," Adrian started. We all listened intently.

"I was wrong. I lied when I had no right to. And I'm sorry. My faithful students, I have no idea what your actual names are, but I knew what it was like to not know, and I wanted to spare you all. Tobias, is the only one I named correctly for sure, obviously. I don't know anything about your pasts, and I'm sorry. I wanted to be liked, but I was going about it the wrong way. Mr. and Mrs. Cage, this is for you guys too, I am so, so sorry," Adrian lowered his head in shame.

"You are forgiven friend," Iron Fist walked forward and put his hand on my brother's shoulder.

"Completely," Powerman nodded.

"I forgive you," Night Shade said sweetly.

"Me too," Leaper sighed with a small smile.

"Me three," Lock Jaw added.

"I sssuppossse ssso," Black Cobra hissed reluctantly.

"We understand, you're forgiven," Claw grinned.

"Forgiven," Barracuda repeated sincerely. And Adrian truly was forgiven, he was beaming so hard that the dark bags under his eyes seemed to disappear and his natural forlorn expression, lifted.

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><p><strong>Danny's pov<strong>

I felt strangely out-of-place watching the other team embrace. The others must have felt the same, because they started backing away to give Adrian some space.

"What should we do?" Sam whispered to us.

"Maybe you kids could call Fury, haven't seen him in ages," Mr. Cage suggested.

"Our communicators were taken when we were captured," Ava shook her head.

"But you know S.H.I.E.L.D, Fury's probably already on his way," Peter joked. As if on cue, we heard a rumbling and the tricarrier came into view. Everyone stopped what they were doing to look up at the director of S.H.I.E.L.D swinging down on a cable. He landed and nodded at us.

"I see you kids found the Vulture," He said coolly.

"Yeah thanks for jumping in so quickly," Peter muttered sarcastically. Fury turned to him.

"When we were attacked, the engines were severely damaged. We couldn't exactly,_ jump in,_" He shot back.

"The important thing is that you're here now, Luke has his parents, and Adrian has his memories," I stepped in, trying to maintain peace.

"Hmm, the kid's a good leader," Fury mused. Peter took the hint and walked over to Adrian.

"So you only remember the bad?" Adrian was asking Tobias. He nodded.

"Then I have much to tell you," He hugged him again and then turned to face Pete.

"So, um, Adrian. I was hoping you reconsidered my offer about my assembling a team of new warriors, you guys have potential," Peter said awkwardly. Adrian smiled kindly.

"Thank you, but my answer is still no. My students still have much to learn, and they should follow their own paths once they're ready. Until then, our place is here, as a family," He said.

"We're going to be a family? I've always wanted one of those!" Leaper squealed.

"Me too Emily. In fact, you and Tobias can be like brother and sister," Adrian told her. The little girl was so happy she did a somersault. Adrian grinned at her, then at Tobias.

"We understand," I said.

"Well, if you kids are done here, New York needs its heroes," Fury stated, but I saw him turn slightly to wipe his eye and smile.

"Thank you Iron Fist, Spiderman, for everything. And Powerman, sorry about the parent thing," Adrian hugged us all in turn.

"No hard feelings, maybe my parents and I could visit you guys, be a family and all," Powerman nodded. I just sat there grinning at the pleasant turn of events. As the others finished their goodbyes and boarded the carrier, I lagged behind.

"I really can't thank you enough Iron Fist," Adrian smiled, Tobias nodding eagerly.

"Perhaps one day, I could give your pupils their memories back, when you think they're ready," I gestured towards the mutants, currently engaged in watching Cobra use his tail to arm-wrestle Barracuda. Adrian saw them and laughed.

"And when they are, I know how to contact you," He pointed to his head. I chuckled dryly.

"Only in emergencies friend, receiving visions is quite straining," I reminded him.

"Right, got it," He nodded. We heard my friends telling me to hurry up from atop the tricarrier.

"I must go. Thank you for teaching me," I told him. He opened his mouth to speak, but Tobias beat him to it.

"Teach what?"

"That when you wait to be ready to claim life's prize, you may never find it. Sometimes you must make yourself ready, and go on a hunt," I stated.

"A hunt? I suppose this whole crazy story has been made up of hunts, hasn't it? Powerman and his parents, me wanting a family. Have you ever gone on a hunt for something?" Adrian asked thoughtfully.

"Indeed," I confided, remembering my adventures in the Island of Dreams. My friends were threatening to leave without me now.

"May our paths cross again, Namaste," I turned back one last time, "Oh and Adrian, call me Danny." And I joined my friends on the tricarrier.

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><p><strong>Well, here it is. The ending of "A Tale of Two Hunts." Anyway, the contest answer is in the text pretty much word for word so I won't re-say it. Anyone that has read Dreaming of Doomsday will(hopefully) be happy to know that I'm making a sequel. This was just a companion, but my next story will be a proper sequel. It will be called something similar to the first one, Dreaming of something. It should be out hopefully before the end of the week. And until then...<strong>

**Wolf out...**


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